COP, Look, Listen : Issue 6

Welcome back to COP, LOOK, LISTEN. Dedicated readers will remember that last year we noted the prominence of The African Energy Chamber (AEC) and its Executive Chairman Njock Ayuk Eyong (NJ Ayuk) at COP27. Despite promoting itself as a “Non-Profit Company” for “Africa’s dynamic energy industry”, the AEC functionally acts as a trade industry group for fossil fuels in the region. Its Board includes the Chief Economist of the American Petroleum Institute, a US group infamous for promoting doubt and uncertainty around climate science for decades. Meanwhile, African Energy Week (AEW) 2023 – an annual event run by AEC – was sponsored by dozens of fossil fuel companies worldwide and attended almost entirely from the fossil fuel industry.

Last year we focused on the AEC’s influence during the summit, including its “drill baby, drill” message and successful spreading of ad hominem attacks against a climate journalist. This year we dug a little deeper into the scope of its impact across Africa. Our findings reveal a pretty significant level of influence.

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